


ship in a bottle

by laikaspeaks



Series: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure Drabble Collection [1]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Animal Transformation, Character Study, Drabble Collection, F/F, Nonbinary Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:34:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 5,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27944633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laikaspeaks/pseuds/laikaspeaks
Summary: Various drabbles and character studies from the Cassunzel discord, featuring such fun AUs as: Pacific Rim AU, Cyberpunk AU, and so on.
Relationships: Cassandra/Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled)
Series: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure Drabble Collection [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2046908
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	1. Flowers and War AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rapunzel is sort of Persephone, and Cassandra is sort of Hades.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Rapunzel squeaked and whirled to face the unexpected voice, clutching a bundle of flowers to her chest. A woman stood in the shadow of Rapunzel's favorite oak, her eyes glinting in the dappled shadows. If Rapunzel was all gold and green the other woman was shadow and silver. Beautiful as a fresh-forged sword pulled from quenching oil, darkly gleaming with cruel promise.

The flowers fell out of Rapunzel's arms, forgotten. "Cassandra!"

Cassandra smiled, the tilt of her mouth as red as pomegranates, and held out her arms to catch Rapunzel and spin her around until they both toppled over laughing. They were still for a moment that drew out and out like honey dripping from a spoon.

Then Rapunzel pushed up on her elbows to smile down at Cass. "I missed you."

Cass reached up and trailed her fingers over Rapunzel's hair, eyes tracing her face as though committing it to memory. Her sweet, sharp smile turned almost shy at the moonflowers woven into Rapunzel's braid, eternally blooming even in the searing light of day. "I can see that, Raps. Did - did you think about what I asked?"

A bolt of fear shot through Rapunzel's body flying true as a spear, but she breathed past it just as Cass taught her to do. She didn't have to let it control her, not anymore. "I haven't really thought about anything else since I last saw you," she admitted. Rapunzel sat back so that she was perched on Cassandra's hips, though that fact was a fleeting thought in the face of the question hanging between them.

"And." Cass was straightforward. It was her nature in the same way that this garden was part of Rapunzel's nature - rooted into them by the blood than ran through their veins. Yet in this moment Cassandra’s eyes slid away, and even the iron of her will faltered. "And what have you decided?"

The more Rapunzel thought and fretted and wrung her hands over the past few weeks, the more she realized it wasn't really a question. She fell in love with Cassandra the moment they met. Imagine, a warrior so startled by the sight of a girl bathing that she fell into the river and had to be rescued, because she couldn't swim? She could still remember the way Cassandra's cool, pale face - as though carved from marble - burned under her hands.

She was quiet for just long enough that Cassandra gathered her courage and met Rapunzel's eyes again.

Rapunzel's affections were commanded by those eyes. All that fierce cleverness in Cassandra's gaze - and the way it melted away to such tenderness that it made her heart ache in response. What a soft heart her warrior hid away under all that armor. "I'm coming with you, Cassandra."

Cass blinked. "What about your garden?"

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. Trust Cass to immediately question a good thing instead of being happy. Instead of answering Rapunzel leaned in to kiss her doubts away, only pulling back when Cassandra looked just the right amount of dreamy-eyed. She was lovely with a flush blooming in her cheeks, her short, dark curls twined with the grass. "I can plant another garden."

No one would believe it if she told them Cassandra taught her that.


	2. you put your head in my hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Rapunzel knows how to care for Cassandra's wild hair because of Gothel - and neither of them want to talk about the elephant in the room.

"And then you apply this - " Rapunzel held up a bottle sloshing with oil. Cassandra shifted on the stool as she caught the scent of something herbal, but different from the smell she associated with Rapunzel. Her girlfriend always had an undertone of something dark and medicinal, but this was... bright. Floral and attention-grabbing in a way Rapunzel never used on herself. "- and leave it in. Start with just a tiny bit, okay?"

Rapunzel worked her fingers through Cassandra's dark hair from the scalp outward, and... it was a little weird. But nice? It was even more weird to see loose curls slowly take form in what had always been untamable mess. It was almost like magic.

Cassandra pulled her eyes up from Rapunzel's hands in her hair. This entire thing was charged with things they weren't going to talk about today or even tomorrow. It was too quiet, too intimate to easily put into words. She wondered if Rapunzel even realized the change - the way her gaze lingered subtly downward, how her movements became closer, smaller. Demure as a proper lady in waiting, not a half-assed one like Cassandra. Her touch gentle, not entirely from tenderness but from the familiarity of long practice.

Cass always did like watching Rapunzel. She was dynamic and bright, and her thoughts crossed her face so openly when she thought no one was paying attention. It was almost hypnotic. This... this was different. This was a stranger Cassandra didn't know, and yet this was someone she knew like it was carved into her bones.

"Thanks for doing this, Raps."

Rapunzel's gaze shot up, before a smile spread over her face and banished the shadows from her eyes. She shook her head, her fingers smoothing down the back of Cassandra's neck with absent affection. "I'm happy to. Really."


	3. Gym AU - Pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rapunzel thirsts over a hot weightlifter at the gym.

Rapunzel knew she shouldn't stare, but the more she tried not to think about looking the more she couldn't tear her eyes away.

The woman's dark hair was pulled back in a short little ponytail that did little to contain the flyaway curls that framed her high cheekbones. There was a beautiful control to the way she moved - quick and efficient and oh my god her biceps. It was clear that as far as the woman was concerned she was the only thing in the room. Her focus was as intense as the way she moved, her dark, pretty eyes turned inward rather than seeing anything of her surroundings.

As the pretty brunette finished up her set she paused to stretch out languidly, and Rapunzel's breath caught in her chest. Rapunzel's hands itched for pencil and paper so that she could trace the pretty shadow in the hollow of her throat.

The woman's lack of interest in anyone else was just as well, because Eugene chuckled beside Rapunzel. "You're gonna burn a hole in her if you stare any harder, Blondie."

Rapunzel didn't dignify him with an answer. Her face burned, and she turned up the speed on her treadmill. Maybe she could run off the fluttering in her stomach instead of having to think about any of this. Unfortunately, the brunette dropped to the floor and started doing crunches, the muscles in her stomach working so beautifully that sculptures should be carved in her honor.

For her part Rapunzel tripped over her own feet with a squeak, and caught herself just short of face-planting into the console. Oh no. The brunette was looking at her now. Shit shit shit.

Eugene cackled so hard he nearly fell off his own treadmill.

"Shut up, Eugene."


	4. Gym AU - Pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cassandra thirsts over the cute girl taking a yoga class in the next room over.

Cassandra knew she shouldn't stare. The problem was that all the oxygen in her lungs and all the thoughts in her brain were totally vaporized. Like just fucking gone. BOOM. Nothing left.

Nothing except the pretty blonde on the other side of the gym currently going through a yoga routine. The glass wall separating the two parts of the gym apparently wasn't enough to shield her from the brain-destroying power that girl had in spades. Cass never really got the appeal of yoga herself - sure she understood logically that it was about flexibility and core strength _blah blah yada yada_. It had the whiff of wine moms and Instagram models all over it, and she wanted nothing to do with that shit.

Except the pretty blonde was tying herself in knots and Cass couldn't help but follow the line of tension that ran down the back of her calf, the subtle tremble of effort in her stomach, or the way her chest filled deliberately with air between each pose. She was golden from head to toe, with freckles down the back of her shoulders and arms. Her hair pulled up into a bun revealed that there were even a sprinkling of them at the nape of her neck. It had crazy romance novel notions sneaking into Cassandra's head. Like what it would feel like if Cass pressed her lips there. The blonde would probably giggle. She seemed like the type.

The class let out, but Cass was still working on a basic bicep curl because anything more was too much for her overheated brain.

The blonde talked and laughed with her neighbor as she gathered up her things. Then, the blonde shoved her bag into the other girl's hands and flipped over without preamble. She balanced easily on her hands, the muscles in her back and arms holding her perfectly steady, and lowered herself down so that her head almost touched the floor before pushing herself back up again.

Oh shit, her shoulders were amazing. She could probably pick Cass up like a kitten and Cass wasn't even sure if she would fucking complain. Oh god. Oh shit.


	5. Gym AU - Pt 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cassandra discovers she's a bottom.

Rapunzel slipped her hands under Cassandra's thighs, hitched her up around her waist, and pinned Cass firmly against the wall. A cocky grin spread over her lips as she leaned in, her green eyes dropping to Cassandra's mouth. "Anything else you want?"

"No - no I'm good. Perfect. This is great." Cass let out her held breath in a rush of air, feeling her incriminating blush start spreading down the back of her neck. "Oh man you're just - gonna actually do that, huh."

"You're the one who said you've never been picked up." Rapunzel blinked up at her with big eyes that almost passed for innocent, except the way she bit her lip was anything but that.

"Yeah but I didn't - you didn't - Uh."

Rapunzel's wicked expression crumbled, and she buried her face in Cassandra's shoulder giggling helplessly. Which really wasn't helping with the blushing situation actually. Rapunzel smelled like tea and artificial strawberries. An unexpected combination but it was going to figure in Cassandra's fantasies to an embarrassing degree.

"Oh man, Cass. You're the cutest."

"Thank... you?" Let Cassandra die now, seriously. Just fucking put her in the ground. She couldn't live with this.


	6. Pacific Rim AU - Pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rapunzel is the best and worst drift partner.

Rapunzel was far from Cassandra's ideal partner.

She was an import from a tiny island called Corona, touched by the sun in more than the freckles that crowded for attention on her face and arms. When they first met she threw her arms around Cass - and each and every member of the welcoming crew - as though she were a long lost friend, already chattering a mile a minute about the journey first by boat then by plane.

Yet there was no denying the numbers, and somehow their numbers read well over any of the other candidates. Though Cassandra privately thought that there was a simple enough reason for that: Rapunzel's potential compatibility read high with almost all of the trainees. The only reason Cass was at the top of the list was because of her preexisting bond with her Jaeger.

Their first drift only confirmed her suspicions. The top brass refused to divulge why one half of a famous pair was abruptly sent to an entire other continent, while the other quietly disappeared from the radar entirely. But Cass felt it, there in the drift where nothing could be completely hidden. The way Rapunzel... disappeared. There was no extra burden as if she was piloting solo, there was no change in any of their vitals, no rabbit to chase. Rapunzel was just gone. Cassandra understood then why there was no other pair for the other pilot. No one else could tolerate the void where Rapunzel should be, the skin-crawling feeling of her vanishing into the drift, melting into them on a level that shouldn't even be possible.

It suited Cass just fine.


	7. Pacific Rim AU - Pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cassandra seeks Rapunzel in the drift.

"Raps."

Cass sprawled on soft grass and crossed her arms behind her head, peering around at the tall, ancient trees and the brightly colored flowers. This was nowhere she ever went, which meant there was only one person who could have brought this space into her memory.

"Hey Raps? Are you here?"

When she was piloting with her father it always ended up a battle of wills, and she never really knew who was in full control. With Rapunzel the opposite was true. There was never any struggle. At one point Cassandra thought that was enough, that she couldn't ask for more than calling the shots. Yet the more they drifted, the more Cassandra felt Rapunzel draw close. As though Rapunzel were standing just behind her, and if Cass turned quickly enough she might see a flash of golden hair from the corner of her eye.

It was like catching a hint of a lover's perfume, or a few bars of a song remembered from childhood. So intimately familiar that it made her heart ache... and hell if it didn't seep into her thoughts outside the drift. Rapunzel's friendliness looked more brittle with each passing day, her awkwardness and long silences more pronounced. Cassandra could see it, could feel it as clearly as if it were her own pulse fluttering terrified in her mouth.

Cassandra wanted to hold Rapunzel. In the drift! Only in the drift, of course. 

But as a phantom hand brushed against her cheek - faint as the struggles of a butterfly trapped in her hands - Cass knew that she was fooling herself.

"Let me see you," she muttered to the impossibly blue sky. There was no answer.


	8. bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rapunzel had a stressful day and seeks some normalcy, AKA Rapunzel may have been born a princess but she has all the skills expected of a medieval servant and I will die on this hill.

There was one night - before the banquet, before everything changed - that Cass tracked Rapunzel down to the kitchens. Floors and worlds of social conventions away from where she was supposed to be in her newly renovated bedroom.

Cassandra had long pretended she didn't see the way Rapunzel's eyes flickered with something close to horror when the princess was first moved into that tower room. Long ignored that sometimes she found Rapunzel's bed totally untouched. She could almost pinpoint whether Rapunzel fell asleep before dawn by whether she found the princess curled in a ball next to the balcony's banister or sprawled out on the baked clay tiles of her bedroom floor.

That night she got a glimpse of whatever troubled Rapunzel's sleep - her brows were knitted together with concentration or the beginnings of a dark mood. 

The only sound was the crackle of a new fire and the subtle rasp of a long, thin knife against bone as her actual princess took a fish apart with expert motions. She couldn't ignore anymore that Rapunzel's hands were coarse and strong, speckled with scars like a craftsman. And Cassandra could see why now, here in this darkened kitchen with ashes from the oven smeared on her flawless cheeks.

She turned and slipped away, and once again pretended she didn't see. Whatever the hell _this_ was, some secrets weren't hers to share.


	9. mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rapunzel is her mother's daughter.

Each evening Cassandra gathered together the sweet-smelling shampoos and creams, scented oils and warmed towels fit for a princess. It made her feel complicit. Little by little aiding in washing away some fundamental part of Rapunzel's nature.

Somewhere between morning and night Rapunzel inevitably started to smell like crushed leaves and turned earth, like black tea's bitter tang that lingered on the back of Cassandra's tongue. And how could she not? The princess disappeared into every interesting swath of underbrush with the determination of a hound. She spoke eagerly to the wrinkled old crones that smiled only for her, and inevitably ended up with strange gifts pressed into her hands - potted feverfew and lamb's-ear and bottles rare, foul-smelling tinctures.

Perhaps her parents saw it too - the long shadow of the woman who raised their daughter.


	10. Moonstone Dragon AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Moonstone!Cassandra learns why we don't use random spells with purposes we don't know.

"Oh Cassandra. What on earth did you do?" That ghost girl buried her face in her hands, her grin pulled sharp with amusement. Honestly her sadism was rarely well-hidden, but at this exact moment she was practically radiating dark glee. "You poor, stupid girl. You've really done it now."

The creature she saw in the water was a relatively small dragon with scales in the same blue-black stone of the black rocks. It's curled horns and the spines down its back gleamed silver, and it's eyes were each blue and shimmering as the moonstone. The only thing that proved that it wasn't a sculpture of exceptional skill - aside from the fact the stones were impossible to cut - was the fact it breathed. Its sides heaved, and Cassandra felt her own lungs fill with air. Felt her own wings flail with panic. Felt her own voice rise in a wordless roar.

The fucking gremlin cackled from the rafters, darting back and forth just out of reach of the dragon's snapping jaws. Somewhere, somehow, Cassandra slipped away.


	11. Fluffy Kitty AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which - in the tradition of so many wonderful crack fics - Moonstone!Cassandra is turned into a cat for no reason.

Cassandra was a cat, and not just any cat. A fluffy, airy cloud of a cat like nobles liked to hold in their laps and coo over. Somehow it would be way more tolerable if she were at least an adult cat. But no she was turned into a stupid kitten. A big kitten, perhaps, but still a kitten with all the clumsiness and dumb giant paws that entailed. Unfortunately, that wasn't even the worst part.

Rapunzel was perched in the large picture window with her knees drawn up, Cass stuck on her back in her lap. For all that Cass was thoroughly trapped at her mercy, she was barely paying any attention. She was just... leaning against the frame and staring out at the sky. One hand tucked under her chin and the other gently kneading her thumb into Cassandra's paw, popping her claws in and out with such precision that it was almost weirder than the sensation itself.

That, however, still wasn't the worst part.

_I'm fucking BLUE, Raps. How the fuck do you think I'm a normal cat?_

She loved Rapunzel more than she should, but really? Really?


	12. Foal AU - Halloween Special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I wrote a Halloween-themed drabble for my "Centaur Childhood Friends" aka "Foal AU" for no reason other than it's adorable.

"You're so short," Cassandra giggled, leaning a little further backward to give her that little bit of extra height. "What are you, a princess for ants?"

"Cassandra that's so mean!" Rapunzel pawed the ground with frustration, but no matter how the eight year old reared and jumped and stretched, she couldn't quite reach the pumpkin-shaped bucket of candy that Cassandra was dangling over her head. "Come on give it to me, please?"

"I dunno, Raps, this is an awful lot of candy for someone so little. Are you sure you won't just explode?"

"Cassandraaaaa."

Oh no, now she was gonna pout. Perfect. It did absolutely nothing to curb Cassandra's bad behavior, because it was too ungodly cute. It was 100% worth occasionally getting kicked in the shins to see Rapunzel's cheeks puff out and her face crinkle with the most ridiculously mild anger.

Of course there was a whole other level of payoff here, and she spent most of her night racing all over Corona for that sweet, sweet reward. "Oh man, I just can't say no to you, Raps. I'm just teasing, you know? Take the silly candy, okay?"

She shoved the bucket into the princess' crossed arms, and watched the barely-contained delight spread over the younger girl's features. The princess even hopped in place a few times, her words reduced to a single high-pitched sound. Strictly speaking no one gave Cassandra permission to bring the little treasure of Corona her very own harvest candy but... well, no one actually forbid it either. It was already a shame she couldn't go out on her own.

Rapunzel nearly knocked her over with a hug, practically vibrating in place with her excitement. Cass laughed, ruffling her hair just enough to pull it a little out of her customary braid. "Yeah, yeah, just don't eat it all in one go, okay?"


	13. Foal AU - Lazy Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Childhood Friends/Centaur AU (aka Foal AU) Cassunzel are on the run from the fantasy cops because Rapunzel is a princess going AWOL with her former Lady In Waiting. Because they're gay and in love. That's literally it, nothing else to see here.

Unlike in the castle, on the road there was no jam-packed day awaiting them when they woke. Or at least not one that required them to move on before they were ready... and what a pleasure it was to lean against Cass as long as she wanted without the threat of being interrupted. Rapunzel watched the sun rise through the trees and didn't dare stir from Cassandra's shoulder, even when her leg started cramping. There had to be irony in stubbornly clinging to a lazy morning, but she didn't want to miss a moment.

It proved to be supremely, sublimely, totally worth the wait. Because when Cassandra woke she lifted her cheek from the top of Rapunzel's head and leaned away enough to blink down at her drowsily, a slow smile tilting her mouth. Her arm looped around Rapunzel's waist squeezed playfully, the other winding around to pull her even closer. "Hey, Raps."

"Hey." She murmured back, giggling to herself with embarrassing giddiness. Rapunzel always loved the way Cassandra's smiles gathered in her eyes, lighting her whole face with a quiet warmth. Those rare glimpses of tenderness never failed to steal Rapunzel's breath away and make her face heat. She could curl up and bask in it like a cat in the sun. Instead she pressed even closer, nearly nudging Cassandra off of her hooves. "I missed you."

Those words - ridiculous and true as they were - made Cassandra glance down and away, shy and lovely as a maiden. It was such an uncharacteristic expression that Rapunzel could only stare. "Wow," she managed around her heart pounding in her mouth. "You're so pretty, Cass."

Cass huffed and shoved Rapunzel with her hip, which would be more effective if her grip around Rapunzel's waist didn't simultaneously tighten, making them both totter in place. "Stop that, you - don't be silly."

"Maybe I am silly." Rapunzel tucked her face into Cassandra's neck in retaliation, brushing a kiss just under her ear, and another to her cheek, and another and another until she was pressing quick, playful kisses to Cassandra's laughing mouth. "But I'm right, and I'll keep saying so until you admit I’m right.”


	14. gathering storms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rapunzel has some trauma to work through.

Rapunzel didn't have the words to explain it. The way that it settled over her heavy as a storm - not the pleasant roll of thunder or the steady fall of rain, but the taste of ozone on her tongue after lightning strikes. The hair on her arms standing on end, every single thought occupied with the clouds pressing down overhead.

She can't breathe. She can't think.

It's in the displeased twist of Cassandra's lips, in her fingers drumming on the hilt of her sword, in the way her eyes harden as though she can't see anything or anyone past the anger. It's in the tension in Eugene's shoulders, the set of his jaw and the curl of his fists. For a shameful moment Rapunzel sees only that he's so much taller and broader. It's in the sharpness of a voice that makes her flinch - and she can't stop, she can't stop, she can't stop, _she can't -_

"Hey - come on, let's just get along." Can they see it? Can they see how her throat tightens when their eyes turn in her direction? "Why doesn't everyone just - just take a second and calm down, okay?"

She's a child again, a smiling mask settling over her face. It's her fault somehow and she has to _fix it fix it fix it_

"Eugene, maybe you shouldn't have - "

If she can fix everything it will be okay. If she can fix it she can breathe again.


	15. Great Tree Gremlin AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cassandra goes on a quest to rediscover the hidden power of the Dark Kingdom... and finds someone very unexpected running wild in the Great Tree.

"Come back, we just - hey, don't run away you little - "

The girl darted into the tangle of vines. She slithered between them so easily that it almost looked like they parted in her path and tangled back into place in her wake. They sure as hell were catching on Cassandra's armor with every step she took. Even so, she managed to cut her way through and follow the girl into a maze of chambers and rooms, all carved with symbols of suns and moons.

This had to be the right place! This had to be the path to the dark kingdom!

Then, just as Cassandra thought she lost the girl in yet another tangle of those blasted vines... the girl popped up in a gap in the brambles, her features set with steely determination. There was something in the set of her jaw, in the shape of her eyes and mouth that was very familiar. Cass just couldn't put her finger on it.

Then the girl shoved a handful of flowers into her face, the pollen clouding up around Cassandra's head. She gasped - and fell over giggling so hard that her vision blurred and darkened. And then she wasn't thinking of much at all.  
  



	16. Fae Court AU

The first thing Rapunzel noticed was that the other fey was a good head taller. 

The second was that her blue eyes blazed with a confidence that bordered on arrogance. The knight seemed to challenge anyone who looked upon her with the lift of her chin, with the way her hand lingered on her sword belt. 

There was no doubt in Rapunzel's mind that she could make good on that unspoken battle cry. The knight's moon-forged armor gleamed inky blue like an iridescent beetle - even from the doorway Rapunzel could feel the icy grasp of the cold iron that made up the outer shell. Only the strongest of knights could bear the oppressive weight and cold for long, and among those most were found in the moon court. 

To her surprise once the other woman finally glanced her way she bowed deeply, her cloak fluttering up and away from her extending arm. It was only then that Rapunzel realized that the long white cloak she wore was no cloak at all, but a pair of delicate, soft white moth wings. The inner parts were marked with the palest blue eye spots that shimmered in the lamplight.

The smirk when she lifted her head destroyed any illusion that the gesture was a humble one. "Princess of the sun court, are you lost?"  
  
It was a little unfair that the knight's voice was as pretty as everything else. Rapunzel suddenly wanted to hear the knight's name, and to hear her own name on the knight's lips. It was unfortunate that would be very, very unwise. 

Even briefly moonstruck, Rapunzel almost said no. Her father made it very clear that she shouldn't trust anyone or anything in the moon court. Its halls were gnarled and twisted mazes, built into the ruins of an ancient tree. Everything that dwelt here was as illusory and fleeting as the moon that ruled their natures. Yet... 

"Yes. I'm lost."

The knight sighed, but the tilt of her smile was more amused than exasperated. She removed one of her gauntlets and held out her bared hand, palm up. For a moment she looked every bit the part of the gentle, courtly knight. "Come, then. I'll show you the way."

"Back to the ball?" Rapunzel clarified, because these kinds of things couldn't be left to chance. 

The knight's smile softened. "Of course, Princess."


	17. Corona New Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a post-series Rapunzel and Cassandra share the new year.

Corona was always a city of celebrations - every little joy was marked and uplifted. 

Every turning of the season, from the birth of the spring calves to the day the last of the winter preserves were scraped from their jars. However, no celebration was held as dearly as the last day of the year. The bakers broke out their super secret stashes of dried fruit, the farmers their salt pork and beef, the fishermen their preserved fish, the vegetable sellers the fermented vegetables with their zing spice and sour. The streets were awash with savory and sweet and salty.  
  
A lantern burned in every window, and would until the moment that the sun rose over the sea. When they were extinguished, Rapunzel recalled, the new year would officially begin. Until then this was the day that didn't exist. A day of excess and greed, all the little vices lined up in a row and indulged one by one by one. 

For Rapunzel's part, she was wandering linked arm and arm with Cassandra, her thoughts a haze of cider-warmth. "Honestly I didn't expect something like this from Corona," she said mildly, allowing Cass to tug her aside before a brawl that spilled out into the street could knock her from her feet, "it's very..."

"Excessive? Yeah, dad would straight up retire out of joy if we ever got rid of this celebration for good."  
  
"Do you not like it?" Rapunzel swayed to the side, bumping a shoulder against Cassandra's. 

"Man, as a kid I couldn't get enough of it." Cassandra's lips quirked in that way they did when her thoughts dipped somewhere dark and lonely, "I guess that just shows what kind of person I - mph - hey, stop that, Raps!" 

Rapunzel jabbed her fingers against Cassandra's lips until the other woman's mouth tilted with amusement. "Not the time, Cass." 

"What, I'm not allowed to reflect on the old year?"

"No." Rapunzel pushed up on her toes, planting a kiss on the curve of Cassandra's cheekbone. Then another more lingering kiss pressed to that wry smile. "Only good things tonight, okay?"

The stubborn set of Cassandra's jaw loosened, a blush spreading in blotches down the neck of her shirt. Her eyes dropped to Rapunzel's lips, briefly distracted from turning inward to somewhere Rapunzel couldn't follow. She never did like being told what to do, but Rapunzel discovered that certain motivators could get around that. "Yeah - okay. Sure. Right."

"Good! Let's go get some skewers, okay?"

"Which one - Raps, slow down!"

"All of them!" This was the best way to start the new year, Rapunzel decided. Hand in hand, racing into tomorrow without fear.

* * *

One by one the lanterns in each window guttered out, their candles no longer needed to get their owners through the dark night. The sky over the sea went from dark blue to light blue to pale off-white, the clouds blazing up into a feiry display of red and pink and gold. All over Corona the revelry slowed, then stopped. Until the entire city was quiet under the unforgiving, slowly rising eye of the brand new sun. 

Rapunzel hummed a quiet tune to herself, kicking her feet against the marble banister of her balcony. The wind stirred the leaves of the trees below, and distantly she could hear the sound of the gulls crying as though it were any other morning. The air tasted of salt. 

"Still awake, Raps?" Cassandra crossed over to lean on the banister, a sleepy smile tugging at the corners of her lips despite her attempt at gruffness. "You should go to sleep."

"Everyone is going to sleep late today, Cass. After last night I'll be surprised if we get started on cleanup before tomorrow afternoon." Rapunzel refrained from pointing out that Cassandra wasn't in charge of her schedule anymore. 

"And yet here you are, still awake. Any reason you're not going the fuck to sleep with the rest of your kingdom, your highness?" Cassandra poked playfully at Rapunzel's cheek, which told her more about Cassandra's alcohol intake last night than anything else.  
  
"Maybe I was waiting for you."

"Oh?" Cassandra grinned, leaning in with her eyes glittering. "Why would that be, Raps?"

Did she do that on purpose? She had to be doing that on purpose. No one could be that pretty on accident. It made Rapunzel huff with irritation - trust Cassandra to wait until a time like this to play coy. "You know why."

"I swear, I have no idea what you mean." Cassandra's grin spread over her features, crinkling the corners of her eyes with absolute glee. 

"...You promised me a new year's kiss," Rapunzel muttered, crossing her arms defensively. She could feel the heat rising on the back of her neck. Her excuse sounded lame even in her head. "It's good luck."

Was it so bad that she wanted Cassandra to be the first person she saw today? Cassandra didn't really believe in luck, but Rapunzel wanted a little of it to rub off on them. On this. Clearly Cass saw a little of that wish because her expression gentled, her hands twining tentatively with Rapunzel's. "You really wanna?"

Rapunzel felt a nervous giggle bubble up in her chest. "Yeah. I do."

"Well... happy new year, Raps." 

Cassandra leaned in, and Rapunzel mirrored the motion. It was an ordinary kiss for an ordinary day, brief and chaste and warm as the sun over Corona. She couldn't ask for more. 


	18. Role Swap AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cassandra is the prince of the dark kingdom, Rapunzel is queen Gothel's mysterious lady-in-waiting. AKA Cass is nonbinary and they're not having a great day.

Cass wasn't sure how they felt about the queen's personal lady-in-waiting attending to them like this. Then again, with Faith down with a nasty case of pneumonia they had little other choice - and the idea of having to train a brand new maid not to ask uncomfortable questions was nausea-inducing at the best of times. At least Rapunzel knew enough of their situation not to make it weird. They tilted their head just enough to catch Rapunzel's reflection in the mirror. She was busing herself with making Cassandra's freshly vacated bed, leaving the prince to put on the clothes she laid out.

Not that the situation wasn't already weird enough.

For her part Rapunzel didn't seem to notice Cass' misgivings - she went about her duties with the same cheerful competence as ever, flitting in and out of the prince's rooms with Cassandra's meals or wood for the fire without obvious concern for her change in situation.

"I can help with that."

Cass nearly jumped out of their skin when the maid appeared over their shoulder, that blandly pleasant smile fixed to her face as always. "What."

"Your... corset?" Rapunzel began delicately. "It laces up the back, right?. You'll hurt yourself trying to close it up on your own. Let me help."

Cassandra realized that they had indeed put their trousers on but paused at the point where Faith normally helped them put on their boned corset. A miracle of fashion for young men and women alike, and one that served an entire other purpose for the prince. “Okay.”  
  
The entire affair less painfully awkward than Cass expected, but then they supposed Rapunzel would be familiar with corsets. The main difference between the one designed for their purposes was in the positioning of the laces and hooks, but otherwise the process was much the same.

Cass was so busy trying to be okay with this abrupt change to their routine that they barely noticed being helped into the rest of their clothes. It was only when Rapunzel stepped back and Cass looked in the mirror that they realized that their usual military jacket had been exchanged for one of a similar cut but different color. Dark green with golden trim, a far cry from their usual shades of blue and black. 

“What’s this?” Cass asked, fingers brushing absently over a line of brass buttons. 

“I found it in your wardrobe.” Up until this point the maid had her usual vacant cheer, but the hint of the _possibility_ of Cassandra’s displeasure made the young woman draw up into a perfect posture, hands folded neatly at the waist. Her pretty green eyes settled at a point just over Cassandra’s shoulder, her features schooled into perfect, sweet calm that did nothing to cover the way her face subtly paled. “I thought - well it looks nice. I thought it would suit your highness.”

What, exactly, had Cassandra's mother done to the poor thing?


End file.
